Note: Book Three, Chaos Kin, releases today!
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
LGBTQ+ Category: Bi, Poly
Reviewer: Maryann
Universal Buy Link | Liminal Fiction | Goodreads
About The Book
In the town of Rancho Robles, can one werewolf protect the Children of the Wolf and the Bat? Chaos Wolf Jordan Abbey has made friends among the Black Oak Pack even though she refuses to join it. The same can’t be said of the vampires, but her life has taken a turn for the better.
That is until Enya Blevins, sister to the werewolf who turned Jordan, arrives in Rancho Robles. She wants to know who killed her baby brother and is less than impressed by the Chaos Wolf. Enya wants revenge, starting with Jordan and ending with the vampires infesting the area.
Jordan is prepared to flee, but a technicality makes her an Alpha Werewolf. Now she must stand her ground to protect her nascent Pack and those she loves.
The past has come back to bite her. Does she have the fangs to bite back?
About the Series:
In the Northern California town of Rancho Robles where the Children of the Wolf and the Bat share an uneasy coexistence. One werewolf woman threatens to upset that balance.
The Review
Rancho Robles Community College student Jordan Abbey is not having the best of luck retrieving her coffee order. Juggling, napkins, her open book and being bumped into for the third time is not working for her. Then she is tapped on the shoulder by someone, maybe an older student or even a new teacher at the college, telling her that her order was called.
As she heads toward the bus stop, the noise of the crowded coffee shop turns into the murmur of creek. The moon adds to the spooky atmosphere, and her anxiety grows. Then she is attacked by an animal the size of a St. Bernard. She tries to fight off the creature, and then the jaw clamps over her shoulder down to the bone, lifting her up and dropping her, severely injuring her ankle. Someone starts shouting at it, and Jordan recognizes her savior as the man from the coffee shop. As the attacker heads right for the man, a gunshot goes off.
It was a struggle for Jordan to make it to the man’s SUV. When she awakens, she doesn’t remember much that happened, except being attacked by a large dog. The man who saved her – Montgomery Cooper – tells her that she’s at the home he shares Kelly “Thorn” Henderschott.
What she’s told by Montgomery frightens her, and even though he saved her, she leaves his home on the run. Returning to her apartment, her roommates try to persuade her to get the police involved, but they’d think she was crazy. The only witnesses were Montgomery and Thorn.
Ultimately, she has no place to go other than back to Montgomery and Thorn. From then on, she starts tol learn more about them, especially Montgomery Cooper, and what he was and is now. She also learns the myth of “The Bat and Wolf,” and how a once-great friendship had come to an end. It seems that there’s not much love between Elder Marcus of the Conclave and Alpha Shane of The Black Oak Pack.
Jordan will find herself in the middle of a battle between vampires and werewolves who want her gone, preferably dead. How will Jordan Abbey handle this crazy paranormal rollercoaster ride through two very different worlds?
Sheryl R. Hayes crafts a new kind of vampires and werewolf tale with the first “Jordan Abbey” book Chaos Wolf. Jordan is a strong female protagonist. She doesn’t have any special powers, but she’s smart and knows how to defend herself. She’s not overly excitable and thinks situations through, and she’s not at all shy about expressing herself, which doesn’t sit well in the world of vampires and werewolves.
Montgomery and Thorn are supposed to guide Jordan and get her acclimated to the rules and laws of the vampires and werewolves, but they are both wrapped up in their own secrets.
The two leaders, Marcus and Alpha Shane, are stuffed shirts with no sense of humor. Marcus, of the vampires, is always in others’ business. Alpha Shane carries a grudge, after Jordan makes her decision not to stay with the pack.
I highly recommend Chaos Wolf for anyone who enjoys paranormal urban fantasy. The novel is different from many other paranormal stories I’ve read. It moves at a good pace, as Jordan gets into all kinds of situations, sometimes funny and sometimes not. As the reader, I was always wondering how she would she get out of the next dilemma. All in all, it’s a fun and entertaining read.
Off to read book two, Chaos Hunt!
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
